The stadium, uniforms, coaches and most of the players will look familiar. But the paths that led the L.A. Galaxy and Houston Dynamo to their MLS Cup final rematch have been far different (and more treacherous) then they were in 2011.

Throw in the intrigue surrounding the potential end of this Galaxy era—David Beckham’s departure now is assured and Landon Donovan’s is possible—and the Dec. 1 title match becomes more than just a rehash of last year’s championship game.

There is unfinished business to confront, and there are lasting legacies to be defined. For the champions, the final will offer one last look at a trio of stars who have lifted the league and now have the opportunity to cement their club as the most successful in MLS history. Unlike last year, however, the challengers will take The Home Depot Center field with their top player in peak form.

Here’s an early look at the 17th MLS final, the historic stakes and how L.A. and Houston have evolved over the past year:

What’s at stake

The MLS championship and the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy.

If L.A. (19-14-6) wins, it would claim its second consecutive league title and fourth overall, matching D.C. United as American soccer’s most decorated professional club (four MLS Cups, four Supporters Shields, two U.S. Open Cups and one CONCACAF championship. The Galaxy didn’t get the opportunity to compete for the InterAmerican Cup that D.C. won in 1998).

Houston (17-10-12) is vying for its third MLS title since entering the league in 2007. The Dynamo moved from San Jose and left the original Earthquakes’ history behind but maintains coaching and personnel ties with the club that won a pair of league championships in California.

The history

The Galaxy won last year’s MLS Cup final, 1-0, on a 72nd-minute goal crafted fittingly by the club’s three designated players—Donovan, Beckham and Robbie Keane. Beckham’s header set Keane free on the left, and he then fed Donovan with a slick through ball that left the U.S. star one-on-one with Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall.

It was the clubs’ second playoff meeting. L.A. defeated the visiting Dynamo, 2-0, in the 2009 Western Conference final with overtime goals from Gregg Berhalter (since retired) and Donovan.

This year’s MLS final will be the Galaxy’s eighth. No other club has appeared in more than five. L.A. lost its first three, won ‘02 and ’05, fell to Real Salt Lake on penalty kicks in ’09 and then clinched its third championship last year.

The Dynamo are in their fourth final in seven years. Midfielder Brad Davis and forward Brian Ching are the only holdovers who played a role in either the 2006 or ’07 MLS Cup wins.

“Four MLS Cups (appearances) in seven years since the start of the franchise is pretty impressive,” Houston coach Dom Kinnear said Sunday after clinching the Eastern Conference title. “If you look at the roster of players (from ’06-’07), it was kind of a who’s who of MLS Cup champions and MLS Cup excellent players.

“This group, I wouldn’t say there’s no names—Brad Davis is well known. Tally Hall has been excellent. Bobby Boswell has been around for a while. But there’s so many new faces. The attitude is the same, but the personnel obviously has changed a little bit.”

This season

Houston and L.A. met only once in 2012. On May 26, the Dynamo defeated L.A., 2-1, on a sweltering afternoon at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Edson Buddle lifted the visitors to a first-half lead, but L.A.’s Mike Magee—typically so deadly in front of the opponent’s net—leveled the score with a 38th-minute own goal. Houston scored the winner in typical fashion, off a Davis corner kick that was finished by defender Andre Hainault.

L.A. was playing without Keane and Donovan, who were on national team duty, and dropped to 3-8-2 and last place in the West.

“We basically conceded the Supporters Shield 14 games into the season,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said Sunday after holding off the Seattle Sounders for the Western Conference title. “The objective then was to get into the playoffs. We went on a run that was fabulous. Last 17 games of the season, we had 34 points. Thank God you guys aren’t smart enough to figure that out so we could kind of do it quietly and get ourselves going again.”

How L.A. has changed

L.A. survived its season of upheaval to emerge as team that, on paper, might be even better than last year’s championship edition that some called the best in MLS history.

With his first full MLS campaign now under his belt, Keane appears to have the league figured out. He has been dominant over the past year and finished the regular season with 16 goals, including 12 after July 4. He has five more in five playoff games and has been a key reason L.A. advanced to the final as a fourth seed.

“Robbie, since he's come back from the European Championship, has been the best player in the league,” Arena said recently. "He a great leader on our team and, when the whistle blows, he's ready to play. He's a great competitor."

While Keane has been in the ascendancy, Donovan has slipped. It’s been a year full of injuries and occasional malaise for the club captain, who has hinted that he’s ready for a break from soccer following the season. He has been brilliant at times during the playoffs, but consistency remains an issue. He missed the semifinal decider, a 2-1 loss in Seattle (L.A. won, 4-2, on aggregate) with a bad hamstring.

The Galaxy’s depth is better than last year’s. Midfielders Marcelo Sarvas and Christian Wilhelmsson offer defensive cover and improved width and give Donovan the opportunity to push up front.

Defensive injuries have been a key feature of L.A.’s season. First, it was Omar Gonzalez, who missed five months with an ACL tear, now it’s his partner in the middle, A.J. DeLaGarza, who has missed the playoffs with a sprained knee. Rookie Tommy Meyer has filled in adequately, but the Galaxy aren’t as fearsome or consistent in back as they were in 2011.

How L.A. has stayed the same

The Galaxy remain a team of ultra-talented game-breakers and an able supporting cast willing to do the dirty work. Defensive midfielder Juninho and Magee are consistently productive but unheralded, and Beckham, at 37, still can unlock a defense with a long pass like nobody else in the business. Outside backs Todd Dunivant and Sean Franklin are mainstays whose ability to monitor Davis and Oscar Boniek Garcia in the final will be critical. Meanwhile the acerbic Arena continues to pull all the right strings.

When the season kicked off in March, L.A. was everyone’s heavy favorite to return to (and likely host) the final. Despite the early drama and daunting playoff road, that’s exactly where they are.

This is a team anchored by its big-name stars, and with one (or perhaps two) headed out, the Galaxy will be motivated to end this era on a high.

How Houston has changed

It was almost unfair to ask the Dynamo to challenge L.A. in the 2011 final without Davis, the hard-working playmaker who sets the table and has 28 assists over the past two regular seasons.

He was injured in last year’s semifinal win over Sporting Kansas City. This time, he’s healthy and might make all the difference. He already has three assists in this year’s playoffs, and his presence will leave L.A. thinking twice before it commits any fouls in the defensive third or yields an easy corner kick.

Houston’s other notable addition will be Boniek Garcia, the speedy Honduran midfielder who has helped the Dynamo become less deliberate in the attack. Whether he’s dribbling at opposing defenders or stretching them with quick runs off the ball, he gives Houston a dimension it lacked a year ago.

Davis said Houston has become “more possession-oriented, (with) guys who are more comfortable on the ball. In the past, we were a little bit more of a direct team.”

Geoff Cameron is gone—he’s now at Stoke City in England—but Jermaine Taylor has filled in ably alongside Boswell in central defense and the return of Ricardo Clark has given the Dynamo a bit more bite in midfield.

Kinnear will hope that Clark (groin) and forward Calen Carr (hamstring) heal up over the next week and a half and are ready for the Galaxy.

How Houston has stayed the same

As the bottom-seeded preliminary round survivor in the East, the Dynamo were supposed to be the easy first course for first-place (and well-rested) Kansas City. Instead, Kinnear’s squad demonstrated once again that it has mastered the little things that decide big games.

“The one thing we know is that it was going to be difficult and the one thing I said to the staff and to the guys was, ‘If there is a team that can get to the final in difficult circumstances, I felt this was the group that could do it,’ ” Kinnear said. “Luckily for me, they proved me right.”

Like the San Antonio Spurs or the New Jersey Devils, the Dynamo are a team whose all-for-one, disciplined and mistake-free style of play paves the way for playoff success. It’s telling that Houston has been a top playoff seed only once but is about to compete in its fourth MLS Cup final.

“I don’t think we’re the prettiest of teams,” Kinnear said. “We’re not glamorous. We don’t hoot and holler and talk about ourselves too much. We just kind of go about our way.”

That “Dynamo Way,” which Boswell described as a “group mentality of accountability,” helped Houston hold off the high-flying Galaxy for more than 70 minutes in last year’s final. With Davis and Garcia in the fold and forward Will Bruin in better form, it could produce even greater dividends this time.